Service charge vs raised prices

I see a lot of people in this community complain about automatic gratuity / service charges, and in the very same comment say restaurants should just rise prices and pay their employees a livable wage. My question is, what's the difference? If they raise prices 20% or add a 20% service fee, the end result is still the same for your bill. Is it that you feel deceived because your food was $100 but the bill is $120? How would you feel if all of a sudden your meal went from $50 to $60 with no difference in the meal itself, but then there was no prompt for a tip?

Full disclosure, I am a restaurant employee and have survived off tips for most of the past decade. And I also get the outrage of being nickled and dimed for tips at places that didn't ask for tips just a few years ago. Times are tough and for most of us, every dollar counts.